1/4 Q's for a Mountaineer

[TMc]

First post. Great site by that way. Ive been doing a lot of reading on here already.

Anyway, I have a 97' 5.0 Mountaineer and Ive been thinking about doing a little tweeking on it over the next couple years. I used to own a mustang, so Im familiar with the engines and what kind of mods it takes to get them running in the 1/4. Ive searched, but havent found much specific info on horsepower / 1/4 times for an explorer, if I missed something let me know.

So, about how much horse power (flywheel) would it take for a mountaineer (at race weight) to get into the 14's? How about the 13's?

Ideally, Id like to find another explorer motor to build up, swap out, then add some nitrous. I know a lot of mustang guys are getting around 300rwhp with ported and cammed explorer motors, so theres definately potential there with well thought out build.

Also, how much can the 4r70w handle in completely stock form? I know it would be better to upgrade, but that might be one of the areas I have to skip for a little while with a tight budget.

 

[boominXplorer]

Mac intake, FMS headers, SCT chip, True dual exhaust, ported upper and lower intake manifold, pro*m mass air and a 100 shot got me at 13.9 in my 2000 mounty back in the day

 

[TMc]

Thats actually better than I expected. You ran that with unported heads and the stock stall? Did you have any n/a passes or dyno runs?

I was hoping it would be possible to go 14's n/a with ported heads/intake and a custom cam. Then, maybe mid 13's with a 125 shot.

 

[section525]

Search for a user named XLT_66 i believe. I think we had some head work done and made a pretty fast run down the track.

 

[boominXplorer]

I never ran it stock but in the 1/8 with only exhaust I did a 10.6. In the 1/8 with all my mods I would runs 9.0's all day long. I forgot to add I have a stage 3 baumann shift kit. All my internals are factory also.

 

[95offroadx]

wow thats pretty goood for a 4,000lb+ truck,

 

[justin146]

I ran low 15s with just a mac intake, straight pipe exhaust and 4.56 gears on stock size tires.

 

[TMc]

Thanks for the info guys, doesnt sound as hard as I thought.

Heres the basic plan I was thinking of:

-find another explorer motor
-get bottom end rebuilt
-get the heads worked (not sure how much yet)
-get lower intake ported and at least port match upper
-custom cam
-chip/tuner (im not familiar at all with the newer comps)
-plus all the little stuff
-100-150 shot

So, sounds like mid 13's shouldnt be too hard with that set up. Not sure what Ill do about the tranny yet or if a higher stall is worth the $$$.

 

[justin146]

You can do mid 13s with just an e303 cam, MAC intake, Torque Monster headers and that shot of nitrous.

 

[TMc]

Hmm. Will be interesting to see what this combo will do then.

 

[TMc]

Whats the fastest n/a time run by anyone on here? Someone has to have made mid 14's at least.

 

[boominXplorer]

with a cam and a few mods I think the lowest I have seen is the 15's

 

[Xzibit A]

well see abou that, i think my truck will def be close to the 14s with thefew mods i have and if i ever get the 5 spd in there it will def be 14s

 

[TMc]

Ill definately see how far I can go N/A, before I slap on the juice. Its just gonna depend on how much I can get out of the gt-40 heads/intake. Like I said, mustang guys are getting some really respectable numbers out of these, so its possible. It will cost more, but a custom cam should really help.

 

[TMc]

Got another question, what tires do you guys run at the track? Is anyone using drag radials? If so, what size?

I loved the nitto dr's on my mustang, but Im not sure they come in a size that would work on an explorer. On second thought, is traction even a problem with the stock converter

 

[justin146]

I take it you aren't AWD??

 

[Xzibit A]

im not awd, im hoping to find some guy with a 5 lug stang to lemme borrow some tires

 

[TMc]

Well, nitto has a 275/50r-15. So, that would be a step down to, I think, a 26 in. tire. Would be good for the strip. Do any of the tuners/chips recalibrate for gear or tire changes?

Then again, not sure if you could cram a 275 on the stock 15x7 wheels or if it would even fit with the back spacing.

 

[TMc]

One more question, has anyone run a higher stall? Thats another thing Im not sure about, everything Ive owned has been a manual. I know going with an aftermarket stall would definately be a good idea, just not sure if its worth it, you know $$$/et wise.

Anyone have experience with one on their explorer?

 

[kaylene]

i have a 97 monte with a mac intake and x pipe muffler and a trick flow cam stg 1 and a shift kit from trans go im saving for a turbo im hoping for at least low to high 11s on that setup with a trans brake and 4 wheel drive with street tires those that sound good or im hoping for to much